This year has definitely been a resounding year for dungeon synth. Although there has been a resurgence of the genre within the past few years, the amount of artist and releases this year have been quite explosive. Even though the majority of these projects have leaned more toward DIY ventures, they’ve been crafted with extreme professionalism and a maturity not quite experienced in most other genres. Newcomer Foal is no exception. Although the sole musician of this outfit has previous recording experience with shoegaze, black metal, drone, & noise projects, the decision to release his debut dungeon synth craft known as ‘Denu Of Wind’ will be a pleasant surprise for dungeon synth fans. Although this five track album comes in at just under fifteen minutes, it’s some of the most brilliant fantasy synth that I’ve heard all year and it’s as if a seasoned dungeon synth artist laid the foundation for this recording.
“The Succulent Stream” begins with a beautiful and clean keyboard melody that is reminiscent of an early 90’s black metal album opener. About halfway through, the soulful sounds intertwine with densely layered keys that are toned just right to create a very atmospheric and euphoric dirge. “Goatmen Of The Fog” opens with the chirps of early morning birds and is soon followed by traditional dungeon synth keys. Alluring orchestrations follow suit and construct a buildup to a very cinematic ending that could be used in a fantasy-based movie soundtrack. “Moonlight Quest” contains some echo-like key arrangements that can easily put the listener in a state of reverie. With its dreamy patterns and trance inducing looping melodies, this is one of the stand out tracks on the album. “Tales Of A Ruined King” takes the listener back to medieval times when a kingdom in a distant land became disarrayed by malicious king and he was overtaken by a mutinous group of knights. The music has a luminous mix of forest synth and fantasy synth elements. The final track on the album is the astounding “Bells Of Lake Bled”. Although the melody in this track is a bit on the depressing side, it’s equally fascinating to the ears and imagination. As the tolling of the bells blaze on, I imagine a group of warriors returning to their kingdom, after suffering defeat. Although they’ve survived the ordeal, many of their comrades were lost and they now their kingdom faces an uncertain future.
Foal has written an admirable debut album in ‘Denu Of Wind’. The five tracks that are contained in this relatively short album are extremely well thought out and flow together perfectly as if they were put together in storyboard form for a soundtrack. Producing a well diverse musical output ranging from traditional dungeon synth, medieval ambient, forest & fantasy synth, Foal has released a debut that will surely garner multiple listens. This is one artist I will definitely be keeping my eye on and I recommend that you do the same. Show your support by downloading ‘Denu Of Wind’ from the link below.
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